Owls throw away two-goal lead in fourth successive defeat

Wednesday threw away a two-goal lead at the interval to crash to a 3-2 defeat at Luton this afternoon and further dent our hopes of avoiding relegation.

That first-half dominance also saw us create 14 efforts, three on target, while Luton mustered just one off-target shot during that time.

However, as soon as we conceded a goal in the first five minutes of the second half the danger signs were there, our fragility from much of the season came to the surface, assurance and confidence on the ball was replaced by uncertainty and errors and the almost inevitable was complete when Luton sealed their comeback victory with an 86th minute winner.

Other half-time scores meant we were out of the bottom three at the break but after the 90 minutes and a fourth successive defeat, we remain on 28 points, one behind Rotherham, who lost at home to Reading, but now six points from safety after Birmingham came back from a goal down to beat QPR 2-1.

Bottom club Wycombe will also move to within two points of us if they can defeat league leaders Norwich in their home game tomorrow.

It all had looked so different in the first 45 mintues at Kenilworth Road with Wednesday taking the gamre to Luton from the first whistle.

Izzy Brown, playing against the side he was on loan to last season, fired over after just four minutes and we were ahead two minutes later when Callum Paterson pulled the back for Josh Windass to net at the near post from inside the six-yard box.

Windass fired just wide soon afterwards and should have made it 2-0 on 21 minutes when he latched onto Matt Penney’s through balll but his curling effort in a one-on-one with home keeper Simon Sluga curled over the bar.

However, he was not to be denied a second goal, the ball falling to his feet after a move down the right and the striker cracking the ball into the roof of the net from just inside the box to give Wdnesday a two-goal lead at the break.

Luton made three changes at half time and they were soon back in the game, Kal Naismith flicking home at the near post from a corner within five mintues of the restart.

That was just the spark the home side needed and they were level on the hour-mark. Ryan Tunnicliffe left Penney trailing as he ran into the box and latched onto Elijah Adebayo’s cross to drive home.

Our only threat of the second half came when Paterson turned the ball wide after being picked out at the far post by Barry Bannan.

And, just four minutes from the end of normal time, we paid the full price for our second-half ‘no show’ as Luton got their winner.

A wayward midfield pass from Jordan Rhodes was seized on by the home side, Adam Reach allowed Harry Cornick to cross to the far post and there was the unmarked Adebayo to head home and complete a fightback that had looked so unlikely at the break.

Wildsmith, Harris, Uroghide, Lees, Börner (Dunkley 83), Penney (Reach 68), Hutchinson, Brown, Bannan, Paterson (Rhodes 68), Windass (Marriott 78). Unused subs. Jackson, Palmer, Pelupessy, Hunt, Kachunga.

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